Each weekday on this blog you will find an episode of a western short story featuring Rance Dehner, a detective who operates in the old West. When the story concludes, it will be archived for those readers who prefer to read a story from start to finish.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Olsen bent down and grabbed Hosea by the collar of his black frock
coat. He dragged him out of the room and shouted from the second floor, “The
preacher man is all tuckered out after spendin’ time with one of our girlies. I
gotta help him downstairs.”

The entire saloon exploded in laughter as Lars Olsen dragged Hosea
down the stairway. When they arrived at the bottom, Lars picked Hosea up while
still holding him by the collar. “He was prayin’ for a miracle all the way
down. Kept askin’ the Almighty for a body made of rubber!”

More laughter followed as Olsen walked a stumbling Hosea to the
bat wing doors and tossed him out. “That girlie wants nothing to do with you!
Stay away or I’ll kill you!”

Episode Four

***

Rance
Dehner rode slowly into the dark town of Hellfire. This was not his kind of
town. There was no law in Hellfire. Killers gathered here like worms crawling
into a coffin. Dehner was in town to bring one of those killers, Lars Olsen, to
justice. The detective had no illusions about peacefully arresting the outlaw.

The
circumstances that brought Dehner here were also strange. He had received a
telegram from a friend, Stacey Hooper, informing him as to Olsen’s location.
Stacey was a professional gambler: not the type who was usually concerned about
law and order.

Dehner
figured the time to be approaching midnight. Down the street, two men were
firing guns into the sky and finding it hilariously funny. Other men were
staggering from one saloon to the next. There were plenty of drinking holes to
choose from.

Dehner
halted his bay. His attention went to the Quick Dollar saloon, where a blond
haired man had just tossed another man into the street. “That girlie wants
nothing to do with you! Stay away or I’ll kill you!”

The
man who had been tossed got up slowly. He was a thin man of medium height, with
a surprisingly deep voice. “Your days of killing people are numbered, Olsen. Judgment
is coming on you. Coming on this whole sinful town!”

Dehner
tied his horse at the hitch rail outside the saloon. He went unnoticed by Olsen,
who laughed as he stepped back into the Quick Dollar. The detective approached the
deep voiced man who was brushing dirt off of his trousers.

“Are
you okay, friend?” Dehner asked.

“I’m
blessed, if that’s what you mean.” He extended a hand. “The name is Hosea
Rimstead. I was named after the Old Testament prophet.”

Rance
observed that the man looked like a prophet, with a thick black beard that, to
some degree, masked his youth. A close look at his face revealed that Hosea was
in his early twenties. “My name is Rance Dehner. I was named after a rich uncle
my father was trying to borrow money from.”

To
Rance’s surprise, Hosea laughed good naturedly. “Did it work?”

“No.
I disappointed my daddy the day I was born.”

Hosea
smiled broadly. “Guess we all got our burdens to carry.”

“Reckon
so. You look like a man who has acquired some recent burdens.”

“Yeah.”
Hosea touched his face lightly and quickly retracted his hand. “I got what was
comin’ to me.”

“What
do you mean?”

“I
challenged a man much bigger than me to a fight. In other words, I put the Lord
to the test. You ain’t supposed to do that. It never turns out good. Enough
about my troubles, what brings you to this cesspool of sin, Rance?”

“I’m here to arrest Lars Olsen. That was him
who tossed you out wasn’t it?”

“Yep.”

“Last
time I saw him, he had a beard. That was three months ago. He gave me the slip
back then.” Rance looked toward the batwing doors of the Quick Dollar. Tendrils
of smoke oozed out like pus from an infected wound. “Good meeting you, Hosea.”

“Wait!
You could be going to your death! Olsen’s got plenty of friends in the Quick
Dollar.”

“I’m
sure he has plenty of friends in this town. I want to take him now, before he
has a chance to arrange an ambush.”

“I’ll
go with you!”

Dehner
was surprised by Hosea’s offer, which sounded genuine. The man was wearing a
black frock coat, black trousers, white shirt and no gun.

“You’re
not armed, Hosea. Going back into a place like the Quick Dollar without a gun…after
being thrown out…well…you could be setting up another test for the Lord.”

“Good
point. But listen, you won’t be alone, brother. I’ll stay right outside here
and pray for you.”

“Ah…thanks.”

Dehner
stepped onto the boardwalk and glanced backward. Hosea’s head was bowed and his
hands clasped together. His whispered words sounded intense. Rance couldn’t
decide if the man was loco or genuinely devout.
He reckoned that was a question for later. He pushed open the batwings
and entered the Quick Dollar saloon.

The Posse

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Bio

As a kid, I idolized Hopalong Cassidy, which was the most intelligent choice I made during my first thirty years. Much of my professional life has been spent as a literary agent, but I also wrote westerns to prove I didn’t always have to live off the work of other people.
I can now devote myself full time to writing in a genre I love. I’m being a straight shooter when I say your opinion is important to me. When you have a moment, let me know what you think about Wild West Detective. Alas, the western genre has been riding over some tough territory for several decades. I hope this site can bring new folks into the corral and give them a taste of the fun that the western has given me.
jamesclay20@gmail.com